The passing of a talent like Philip Seymour Hoffman is always a hard experience. It’s not just thoughts of the people they’ve left behind that prove haunting, but the knowledge that more from them might have been possible, in a different (better) world. Over the course of his career, though, Hoffman still delivered an incredible range of performances, playing heroes, villains, tragic figures, wise mentors, and complicated celebrities — and he did so across a wide spectrum of film, from the biggest blockbusters of the time to tiny independent films given a wider audience thanks to his presence.
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”
It’s been ten years since Hoffman’s death on February 2nd, 2014, but his legacy remains a powerful one. To pay tribute, let’s look back at just 15 of his incredible roles. Many of these aren’t leads — three of his four Oscar nominations were for his work as a supporting actor — but it’s undeniable that his presence in these movies was essential to their power.
— Liz Shannon Miller
Senior Entertainment Editor
Scotty J., Boogie Nights (1997)
Boogie Nights (New Line)
Hoffman was a perfect fit for the singular worlds constructed by Paul Thomas Anderson. And while he’s not on screen for a large chunk of Boogie Nights, his presence is unforgettable — Scotty the sound guy is the sort of character that’s one-of-a-kind on paper, and utterly forgettable in Hoffman’s hands. Despite Scotty’s eccentricities, there’s a sympathetic quality to him, thanks to Hoffman’s nuance as an actor — where another person’s take on the character might have been more steeped in exaggeration, Hoffman always found undercurrents of humanity. — Mary Siroky
Brandt, The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Big Lebowski (Universal)
Hoffman’s part as Brandt in The Big Lebowski is small — one of the actor’s smallest at barely five minutes of screen time — but as with everything he did, his performance was outsized. As the cloying, obsequious assistant to the Big Lebowski himself, Hoffman turns something that could be annoyingly two-dimensional into something rich and hilarious. The way he guides The Dude through Lebowski’s awards, or sorrowfully leads him into the west wing, or simply the straight-laced way he uses The Dude’s sobriquet — it’s all simply delicious. Small choices in small roles often reveal true talent, and here’s the proof. — Ben Kaye
Phil Parma, Magnolia (1999)
Magnolia (New Line)
Few actors are as well-suited to ensemble casts as Philip Seymour Hoffman was. In a story as knotty and fraught as Magnolia — up against heavyweights including Tom Cruise, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, and John C. Reilly to boot — he serves as an essential anchor, his brilliance illuminating his co-stars as much as himself. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 drama, Hoffman stars as Phil Parma, a nurse who cares for a former TV producer who’s dying of cancer — but Phil’s undertaking extends far beyond his patient’s medical demands. He’s arguably the most genuine, well-meaning character in Magnolia, assisting whomever however he can in an emotional epic filled with greed, vanity, and hedonism. Phil doesn’t pretend that he isn’t just as flawed as his peers, and conveys a message that only someone with Hoffman’s prowess could articulate so poignantly: You’ll rarely, if ever, regret giving someone your help. — Abby Jones
